As a web designer and developer, I am always asked about Blogs, Forums, CMSs, Databases, Anti-X/Y/Z, Backups, Social Bookmarks... the list goes on and on. Someone needs to learn all this stuff in order to convey the pros and cons of each to the customer, right? And then what about the installation and configuration skills for each of the above? I mean this blog site is great: easy to setup, immediate, simple and even based in the UK (a real bonus I might add to us UK based webbies); but not all technology is easy.

Just this week, I have been investigating the possibility of using Ruby on Rails to develop a Blog system for a customer and the promise is great but the reality? Sadly, it would take too much time to learn and develop such a system that it makes much more sense to revert to the tried and tested software and services out there like blog.co.uk for example.

So here I am, wondering if my role as designer and developer is diminishing and all I will become eventually is a knowledgeable web guru who just gets paid to point people in the right direction? Indeed, if this did happen, would it be the end of the world? Perhaps a web consultancy role is not a bad thing - it would certainly save all the late nights I currently spend staring at a screen full of one code or another!!